The present disclosure generally relates to the operation of a chiller plant (e.g., multiple chillers, pumps, cooling towers, etc.) for cooling a building.
Buildings are often cooled using chilled water distributed through a building. Water conduits carrying the chilled water are routed to air handlers located on individual floors and sections of the building. The air handlers push air past cooling coils (or other heat exchanging structures) through which the chilled water flows. Heat is removed from the air by the cooling coils and the chilled water within the cooling coils. During this cycle, the chilled water warms up and is returned via water conduits to one or more chillers for cooling. This process continues, and the chillers can controllably adjust the temperature of the chilled water output for the air handlers. As variables such as temperature and humidity vary, multiple chillers, pumps, or cooling towers may need to be brought online or taken offline to serve the varying cooling needs of the building. Moreover, for example, running three chillers at 60% capacity may be more energy efficient than running one chiller near its maximum capacity to meet the same cooling demand. The chiller system accounts for a large use of electrical power in many buildings.
It is challenging and difficult to efficiently control a chiller plant for a building. Due in part to the varying nature of a building environment (e.g., occupancy, etc.), the varying nature of weather (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), and the varying nature of equipment performance, a chiller plant control setup for a first situation may be inappropriate or inefficient for a second situation.